Timed to coincide with the exhibition Reading Drawings, which showcases inscriptions on drawings in the Courtauld collection, this display in the Prints and Drawings Study Room looks at the function of inscriptions in prints. The Courtauld Gallery has 7,000 drawings, but it also has over 26,000 prints – so we had plenty of works to choose from!

Printed text in printed images can function very differently to handwritten text in drawings. So, we decided to leave aside the themes thoroughly examined in the drawings exhibition – attribution, the history of collecting and working practices – instead exploring why and how prints include text, and what functions word and image can serve together, across a broad range of dates and places. Playing around with the word and concept of ‘Authority’, we thought about the relative ‘authorities’ of text in an image: what happens when text moves from the frame or border to take up an active role in the image itself?

Some Early Modern printmakers represented God by representing the Word of God – his textual ‘authority’, if you like. In these prints, the physical representation of God’s Word as visual sign plays a central role within the image. In the Fall of the Tower of Babel, for example, the illegible rotation of the Latin text signifies the fragmentation of earthly language.

We were also interested in how an authority – whether political, religious or artistic – can be undermined by the use of inscription. Two eighteenth-century satirical prints chosen for the display use fragments of text to make fun of their subjects, subverting them by parodying religious language. An attack by an anonymous artist on Robert Walpole, the first prime minister of Britain, even seems a forerunner for 2017 Turner Prize nominee Anthea Hamilton’s installation of a giant bottom, Project for Door (After Gaetano Pesce), or Pauline Boty’s 1966 painting, Bum!

Printmaking’s close relationship with book-printing inspires the last group of prints – a selection of title pages and cover images from Canaletto to Wyndham Lewis considering how frontispieces reveal and conceal their textual and pictorial content. In these prints no clear boundary can be drawn between word and image, as together they combine to communicate the author’s identity.

Come and see these printed treasures, some of which have not been on display before. The Prints and Drawings Study Room is open by appointment Monday-Thursday 10am-5pm, or drop in on Wednesday afternoons during term time, 1.30-4pm, no appointment needed

We have been working in partnership with the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum to bring to Coventry the world famous Edgar Degas masterpiece Two Dancers on a stage. In this exclusive display, see Edgar Degas’ painting Two dancers on a stage alongside three of his related works.

Coinciding with the display of artworks, the History Center in Coventry is showcasing a selection of items from the Herbert’s collection relating to the Courtaulds company and their links with Coventry.

Coventry played a key role in the success of the Courtauld company. In 1905 the company built its first viscose plant in Coventry, employing thousands of people. The wealth generated enabled Samuel Courtauld to develop his magnificent collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, which form the basis of The Courtauld Gallery collection.

The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum have taken the industrial heritage of the Courtauld textile factories as a starting point and celebrated Samuel Courtauld’s belief that great art should be made as widely available as possible.

Hello and welcome to my first blog as part of the Illuminating Objects I’m a PhD student in theology and the arts at King’s College, London. My doctoral project is an interdisciplinary study of theology and literature centered on the poetry of the nineteenth century Jesuit priest, Gerard Manley Hopkins. I am also interested in the intersection of visual art and theology, and by the way that the arts in general open up theological dialogue in and beyond academia.

Since my research centers on these interdisciplinary subjects, I was thrilled to learn about The Courtauld’s as the Illuminating Objects Internship back in May. The opportunity to apply my interest in theology and the arts in a broad educational context was genuinely exciting. And working at The Courtauld is not an opportunity to be missed! I have always been struck by how The Courtauld offers a unique first-class collection and excellent educational programs, while still maintaining an intimate feeling in its galleries. It’s the kind of museum where visitors are invited, not just to look, but to really appreciate the works displayed. I think this kind of intimacy is one of the things that attracted me to the internship, because I love the idea of working closely with a single object for an extended period.

In addition to learning about my object, I’m looking forward to gaining insight into a new kind of research. I’ve never worked in an art museum, and I’m excited to find out how curators learn about artifacts and communicate their findings. It’s a great opportunity for me to broaden my studies of the visual arts. I’m also looking forward to selecting my object. I’ve been behind the scenes to the Museum Stores once already, and there’s a lot of very interesting sacred art from the Victorian collector Thomas Gambier Parry, which instantly sparks my imagination in terms of the nineteenth century religious imagination.

Looking ahead, I’ll be pitching my proposal to Dr. Sacha Gerstein next week, and then starting research on my object straight away. I’ll be going to the V&A to set up a library account, and I’m looking forward to using their resources as part of my research. The installation date for my object is this October, so there’s a lot to do between now and then!

In the meantime, I hope you’ll keep up with the project by checking back here to the blog, where I’ll be posting about my research as I go along.

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I’ve been the Gallery marketing and communications intern for the past 6 months, and what a six months it’s been!

With a background in History of Art, The Courtauld was the dream location to delve into the world of arts marketing and comms.

Walking through the Gallery before opening (having restocked the all-important leaflet holder) and enjoying a room full of Cézanne’s on the way to the office never gets old. The Courtauld really does have a stunning collection of paintings on the walls, and a great selection of rotating displays in the new Drawings Gallery. There is always something new to discover and I still haven’t settled on a favourite work!

The location isn’t bad either. Situated in the North Block of Somerset House the Gallery finds itself surrounded by a thriving community of arts and cultural organisations as well as bars, brasseries and coffee shops. And fountains! I have loved sitting outside over lunch watching people race each other through the jets or pose in front of them for instagram-worthy shots and then get unintentionally soaked.

Back to the job – The role allows, and encourages, you to get involved in all aspects of marketing and communications within The Courtauld. From social media promotions, monthly e-newsletters and visitor research to feeding-back on poster designs, collating press packs and press coverage the department is a lively one with lots to get excited about.

Highlights for me include:

Assisting at the press call when the plaster cupid, brought from Cézanne’s studio in the south of France, was re-united with its ‘portrait’.

Photographing and working on the Illuminating Objects series – seeing Elly’s aventurine bowl project through from inception to display. Trips to the stores and conservation studios are always fascinating and remind you that there is always more to learn about the collection.

The Gallery team. There are lots of friendly faces in the building which forms a great collaborative atmosphere. Everyone has been hugely welcoming and supportive and I’m very grateful for all that I’ve learnt.

I couldn’t have asked for a better introduction into the world of arts marketing and communications. I’ve learnt so much from the whole team, and in particular from Emily Butcher my manager – thank you. I have been lucky enough to secure a full-time job within marketing and communications, no doubt in part due to my time at The Courtauld.

I look forward to returning to the Gallery to see the displays and projects that I have been working on come to fruition. Until then, nothing beats seeing reviews of the shows you’ve been involved with or your leaflets or posters out on display!

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You may well have heard in the papers in March that a certain Hollywood film star was filming his new movie around Somerset House, which involved landing a helicopter in the Courtyard!

What you might not have heard about is that other less dramatic but no less exciting filming was happening in The Courtauld at the same time.

This year we decided to make a film to promote the Annual Fund and we were delighted that Courtauld alumnus and Art Critic Alastair Sooke was able to play a starring role.

Filming took place over two days in March, and involved extensive filming in the Gallery, the lecture theatre, the Prints and Drawings room and the libraries.

We were also able to drop in on students on our MA Curating the Art Museum course, who were busy preparing for their summer exhibition in the Gallery.

The shoot ended with filming at our lovely Scholarship Reception, where donors mingled with the scholars who have benefited from their generous support.

Our thanks go out to Alastair for giving his time so generously and allowing us to follow him round the Gallery for several hours, and to all those students and staff who made the film possible.

The 2015 Annual Fund campaign has now begun and we need your help! The Courtauld is a charity and the money raised for the Annual Fund supports The Courtauld’s core day to day work. Last year we raised a fantastic £107,942 but this year we are aiming to beat this total. With your help, we can and will achieve so much more.